This tree is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.

Position: partial shade

Soil: fertile, moist, well-drained neutral to acid soil

Rate of growth: slow-growing

Flowering period: April to May

Hardiness: fully hardy

The beautiful, deciduous foliage of this small, round-headed tree is attractively lobed and turns from its usual mid green in autumn to take on shades on yellow, orange or red before it falls. In late spring tiny purple-red flowers are borne in small pendulous clusters and these are followed in late summer by charming red winged fruits, which float down from the branches when they are ripe.

Garden care: Add a top dressing of a multi-purpose fertiliser around the base of the plant in late spring. No routine pruning is required, just remove any dead, damaged or crossing branches in late autumn or winter when they are fully dormant.

Delivery options

Eventual height & spread

Goes well with

Would a Acer grow well in a large pot? I have a large patio and want to have some decorative trees planted in large pots so any advise would be great!

Laura

2016-05-09

Hello,
Yes, provided the pot is really large and you make sure the plant is kept really well fed and watered, then it should be fine - but do keep in mind that it wont grow as tall as it would if it were planted in the ground.

2016-05-12

Helen

Would this tree be suitable to be planted into a raised flower bed, or should it go directly into the ground/ Lawn. Also in terms of the roots does this tree have to be planted a certain distance away from the property.

ian

2015-05-30

Hello,
If the raised flower bed is sitting on top of the soil so the roots can grow down into that, then it should be fine. As for planting distance away from a house, the general rule is that you should never plant a tree any closer than their eventual height (in this case 8m). I would say however that this is not a particularly invasive plant, so you could probably plant a little closer than that - particularly if you have lighter soil.

2015-06-01

Helen

Hi there,
I bought an Acer Palmatum http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/acer-palmatum/classid.2000012901/ from you a few years ago, which is beautiful.
I have found lots and lots of seedlings growing underneath it this year, and wondered if I would be able to get these to grow into actual trees!? If so I wondered if you would be able to give me some advice as to the best way to go about this?
Many thanks

Cathytheshears

2015-05-18

Hello,
You should be able to carefully pot these seedlings up and grow them on in a good quality potting compost, before planting them out.

2015-05-27

Helen

In the last few warm days my poor little acers leaves have shrivelled. they are in shade from the early morning sun but catch it from mid day on. Not sure if this means I have lost them. Any help on what to do next . I have a very new garden and planted these two plants last year.
Many thanks Lyn fisk

fiskie

2013-05-09

Hi there
There could be a number of reasons why the leaves on your Acers are shrivelling. They might have been caught by a late frost in which case I doubt you have lost the plants.
Japanese maples are best grown in a sheltered position as they are prone to leaf scorch from either the wind or from being in a very sunny position. If you think they are in an exposed situation it might be best to move them to a more sheltered part of the garden.
Hope this helps

2013-05-09

Georgina

Problems with my Passionfruit clmber after cutting back, and an Acer that I moved?
Hi Crocus I've recently had my garden designed and am very pleased with the results, (plus many good Crocus plants). Unfortunately, my gardener had to cut back my Passionfruit climber which is about 7 years old. Whilst the other climbers (Honeysuckle / Jasmine) are starting to bud and grow back the Passionflower doesn't seem to be, - is there anything I can do to encourage growth? Also I have an Acer, (about 5 years old), which was frazzled by the sun last summer when I moved it from it's semi-shaded pot, into the ground in more sun. Now there are only a couple of buds that are appearing on the ends of some of the old stems, - should I cut back the ones that don't appear to be shooting, or again is there something I can do to encourage growth? Thanks Vickie

Vickie Kirk

2010-04-12

Hello Vickie, Passionfruits often don't recover from being cut back really hard, but the only thing you can do now is wait and see if it rallies around. I would be reluctant to feed it or try to push it, but do make sure it is watered when the soil gets reasonably dry. If however there are still no signs of growth by early June, then I doubt it will come good, so it may need to be replaced. As for the Acer, I would be patient and see if it does start the shoot from the other branches, but again by early June you will be able to see clearly if certain stems are dead and if they need to be cut out. Same rules apply here as to feeding and watering. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

2010-04-12

Crocus Helpdesk

Tree for screening, and a white rose.....
Dear Crocus, Please could you advise me? I would like to plant a tree (or other) to screen out the neighbours house. My concern is to find a tree which can be planted near to our house without causing any problems to the building or the patio area. To the side of our house we have a paved path, about 0.5m wide and about 1m of lawn up to the fence. There is sun in the morning and again after about 2pm. I am also looking to find a white rose, long flowering and easy to maintain to reach about 1m high. Sunny position. Our soil is a bit chalky. Hope you can make some suggestions so that I can put my order in online. With thanks, Maria

M Dixon

2010-02-22

Hello Maria, Ideally you should aim to plant a tree at least as far away from the house as its eventual height, so if a tree grows to 5m tall at maturity, you should plant it 5m away from your home. This rule however is made to be broken, however you should keep in mind that all large plants have the potential to lift patios or cause damage to unstable walls if the soil is very heavy or the plants get large. Therefore you need to decide if the need for privacy is greater than the risk. If you do decide to go ahead, I would opt for any of the following as they don't tend to become problematic. Acer palmatum cultivars http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.acer-palmatum/ or Pyrus salicifolia Pendula http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/trees/other-trees/deciduous/small-garden-trees/ok-for-small-gardens/pyrus-salicifolia-pendula/classid.4672/ As for the rose, Polar Star is great http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/roses/hybrid-tea-roses/bush-rose/modern-hybrid-t-&amp;-floribunda/rosa-polar-star-=-tanlarpost-pbr/classid.1242/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

2010-02-22

Crocus Helpdesk

Specimen Ceanothus or another large bushy shrub....
Good afternoon, When I was first looking for a Ceanothus to replace the one we have in our front garden, I looked on your website, but you only had small ones. Our once lovely Ceanothus has been pruned out of all recognition again this year, as I planted it a bit too near our boundary when it was a baby. I know it may come back, but it is getting ridiculous as every time it grows back it has to be cut back again severely and then ooks a mess for most of the year. Have you got a nice, tall, bushy Ceanothus to replace it? I love my Ceanothus but perhaps if you don't have a big one, do you have another large, flowering shrub as an alternative? Hope you can help Regards Margaret

D DRAKETT

2009-12-05

Hello Margaret, it is rare to find larger sized Ceanothus as they are usually quite short-lived and don't normally live longer than 6 - 8 years. We do have a selection of larger shrubs on our site like Hamamelis, Hydrangeas, Magnolias, Acer, Cornus, Cotinus, Philadelphus, Syringa and Viburnum, so you may find something of interest. They will be listed in this section. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

2009-12-08

Crocus Helpdesk

Acers for a south-facing garden, or another small tree?
Hello, We live in a mid-terrace house and our garden is south facing. We're looking to get small trees that could live happily in pots and really like Acers. We like them because of the wondeful autumn foliage, but the indication that I seem to be getting from looking at your website is that Acers don't like south-facing, full-sun gardens. What could we do if we wanted Acers, or what would you recommend instead? We're looking for a smallish tree, with nice, colorful foliage. Cheers and regards, Richard

Richard Cote

2009-11-20

Hello Richard, If you want to grow Acer palmatums then you will need to provide some light shade for them during the hottest part of the day - often you can plant them closer to a wall or fence which will offer some protection. Alternatively you can click on the following link to go to all our small trees, which will flourish in a south facing aspect. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/trees/plcid.7/vid.37/vid.187/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

2009-11-20

Crocus Helpdesk

Will an Acer, Weeping Willlow and Beech grow in clay soil?
Hello, Will a Japanese Maple, Weeping Willow and a Copper Beech do well in deeply clay soil ? Thank you

Wendy Hall

2009-10-15

Hello There, As long as the soil does not remain waterlogged for any length of time and you can dig in lots of sharp sand and composted organic matter, these plants should be fine. The willow will olerate a little more moisture than the other two. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

2009-10-16

Wendy Hall

Fungus and dry leaves on Acer?
Hi there, I have noticed in the last week that one of my Acers has developed very dry yellowed leaves and a white soft fungus on its bark, what do you think this could be? My other Acers are fine, but I'm worried that this will spread. What can I do to remove/avoid this? Kind regards

nikki craig

2009-09-14

Hello There, Acers are prone to a number of pests and diseases, but I suspect yours is suffering from a wooly scale - just click on the following link for more information. http://www.crocus.co.uk/pestsanddiseases/_/pests-and-diseases/stems/artcat.6/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

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